Prediction: Croatia vs Belgium

Prediction: Belgium win

Best Odds: 33/20

Bookmaker: 888sport

The FIFA World Cup is finally onto its last set of group stage games as the tournament continues through a whirlwind of drama. There’s a whole lot up for grabs and that’s especially true in Group F, with three of the four nations being in with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage. Two of them, Croatia and Belgium, have pressure on them after weeks of being viewed as the group’s favourites.

Croatia

They may have reached the final in 2018 but based on what we’ve seen thus far, this is an ageing squad. They’ve still got the stars necessary to win some big games but they’ll struggle in the latter stages – and that’s if they even get there. They were phenomenal against Canada after a slow start but the Morocco clash certainly did shine a light on some of their issues.

Team News

Perisic is struggling with an injury after coming off for Orsic in Croatia’s last outing.

Belgium

Belgium continue to proclaim that they’ve been in possession of a golden generation for quite some time but based on everything that’s coming out in the press, they aren’t going to be around this tournament for much longer. They hobbled to a victory they didn’t deserve over Canada and against Morocco, it all fell apart as their glaring issues both defensively and in the middle of the park were exposed.

Team News

Onana is suspended for this one due to his two yellow cards that he’s accumulated with the inclusion of Lukaku being a big talking point.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting in June 2021, Belgium beat Croatia 1-0.
• Croatia have won one and drawn one of their games so far.
• Belgium have won one and lost one of their games so far.
• Croatia have scored four goals and conceded one in the World Cup.
• Belgium have scored one goal and conceded two in the World Cup.

Conclusion

We’re expecting to see a tepid affair between two sides who have had varying degrees of success in the ‘getting off the ground’ department in this tournament. Croatia have the better fire power but when they stick to their game plan and keep it fast flowing, the Belgians can do just about anything. In our view, they’ll edge out a 2-1 win with Morocco picking up a draw, sending the 2018 finalists out.

Prediction: Belgium win

Best Odds: 33/20

Bookmaker: 888sport